An Open Letter to the USA of America
When California was on hearth, Canada despatched water bombers to assist. When our nation is burning… You despatched us a criticism letter. America, we have to discuss.
Pricey United States Congress,
Thanks a lot to your deeply involved letter about our wildfires “ruining your summer time.” Really touching.
We apologize that our forests, after a long time of report warmth, drought, and company deforestation (a few of it by your individual timber giants), had the audacity to catch hearth and interrupt your BBQs and lake weekends.
However because you’re so involved, let’s evaluate the scoreboard:
When California was engulfed in flames, Canada despatched water bombers. No letter. No whining. Simply assist. As a result of that’s what buddies do.
We routinely ship extremely educated Canadian firefighters to California, Oregon, and Washington when your forests are burning down sooner than a rant out of your president. We don’t ship a letter complaining concerning the smog drifting north, we ship assist.
When your hospitals have been overwhelmed and out of PPE in the course of the pandemic, we shipped masks and gloves south. On the similar time, Trump threatened to chop us off. No letter. Simply assist.
When 9/11 occurred, we took in 33,000 stranded passengers and fed them in Gander, Newfoundland. We didn’t ship a letter complaining about our tourism season. We opened our doorways. You may attempt it someday as an alternative of burning the planet for marketing campaign money.
In the meantime, you ship us… a letter.
You write with concern about your “capability to go exterior and safely breathe.” We’re involved about that too. We’ve been involved for many years as your companies have belched extra carbon into our shared ambiance than virtually another nation on Earth. You lecture us about “lively forest administration” whereas concurrently gutting your individual environmental protections and subsidizing the very fossil gasoline business that’s setting our planet on hearth.
All of the whereas, we’re really investing in inexperienced vitality to stop these fires earlier than they begin. You may attempt it someday as an alternative of burning the planet for marketing campaign money.
You need to speak about what’s “ruining the summer time”? Let’s discuss concerning the uncooked sewage and industrial waste you’ve been dumping into the Nice Lakes for a century. Let’s discuss concerning the invasive species that hitch a trip in your ships and decimate our ecosystems. Let’s discuss concerning the acid rain out of your factories that has poisoned our lakes and forests for generations.
Oh, and let’s speak about that “out of doors recreation” you’re so apprehensive about. , the identical open air you’ve been paving over with pipelines, fracking, and oil rigs. The identical air you’ve been fortunately polluting for many years, accelerating the local weather disaster that makes these wildfires worse.
Your letter mentions arson, however conveniently ignores the first accelerant for these fires: local weather change. A disaster you could have actively lobbied to disregard.
So please, spare us the lecture. Don’t you dare complain concerning the smoke in your sky when you could have helped construct the fireplace.
You accuse us of “an absence of forest administration”? Please. Our forests are twice the scale of the state of Texas. And guess what? We didn’t spend a long time denying local weather change whereas burning coal prefer it was going out of fashion.
We Canadians love our summers, too. We additionally love having the ability to breathe. However most of all, we worth friendship and reciprocity. Issues which might be clearly briefly provide south of the border as of late. Actual buddies present up with buckets, not criticism letters.
When you’re so determined for recent air, possibly cease voting for politicians who suppose the one inexperienced coverage value supporting is the colour of their marketing campaign donations.
As a substitute of sending snarky letters, how about sending hearth crews? Or possibly as an alternative of funneling your large protection finances into extra tanks, border partitions, and that Huge Stunning Invoice finances that props up ICE and billionaires, you would assist struggle precise world threats. Like local weather change?
Subsequent time there’s a disaster, possibly look within the mirror earlier than you look north.
With all of the well mannered Canadian sincerity we are able to muster,
Canada and The Planet D
Wish to signal this letter too?
Depart a remark under with:
“Signed, [Your Name]” (and be happy so as to add the place you’re from!)
Let’s present that actual buddies present up with buckets, not criticism letters.
